Semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device is described, which includes a first transistor, a second transistor, and a capacitor. The second transistor and the capacitor are provided over the first transistor so as to overlap with a gate of the first transistor. A semiconductor layer of the second transistor and a dielectric layer of the capacitor are directly connected to the gate of the first transistor. The second transistor is a vertical transistor, where its channel direction is perpendicular to an upper surface of a semiconductor layer of the first transistor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/539,237, filed Aug. 13, 2019, now allowed, which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 16/048,412, filed Jul. 30, 2018, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,418,381, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/671,216, filed Aug. 8, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,038,011, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/092,674, filed Apr. 7,2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,748,273, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/768,753, filed Feb. 15, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.9,312,257, which claims the benefit of a foreign priority applicationfiled in Japan as Serial No. 2012-044109 on Feb. 29, 2012, all of whichare incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device.

In this specification, a “semiconductor device” refers to any devicewhich can function by utilizing semiconductor characteristics, and amemory device, an electro-optical device, a semiconductor circuit, anelectronic component, and an electronic device are each an embodiment ofthe semiconductor device.

2. Description of the Related Art

A memory device is one of semiconductor devices including semiconductorelements. Memory devices are broadly classified into two categories: avolatile memory device that loses stored data when supply of power isstopped, and a non-volatile memory device that holds stored data evenafter supply of power is stopped.

Typical examples of volatile memory devices are dynamic random accessmemories (DRAMs) and static random access memories (SRAMs). Suchvolatile memory devices lose stored data when supply of power is stoppedbut consume relatively less power because they do not need high voltageas in non-volatile memories.

The area of a DRAM can be small because one memory element of the DRAMincludes only one transistor and one capacitor; however, a dataretention period is extremely short, frequent refresh operation isrequired, and power consumption cannot be sufficiently reduced.

Although an SRAM can operate at high speed, the area of the SRAM islarge because one memory element of the SRAM includes at least sixtransistors. Further, since the off-state current of the transistors areincreased due to miniaturization of the transistors, power consumptionduring a data retention period cannot be sufficiently reduced.

A typical example of a non-volatile memory device is a flash memory. Aflash memory holds electric charge in a floating gate and thus has asemi-permanent data retention period (e.g., see Patent Document 1).However, a flash memory consumes large power because it requires highvoltage for writing and erasing data, and in addition, it is not easy toincrease the speed of these operations. Further, in writing and erasingdata, electric charge is injected to a floating gate by generatingtunneling current by application of a high electric field to aninsulating film, so that degradation of the insulating film proceeds inaccordance with the number of writing cycles.

It has recently been found that a transistor formed using an oxidesemiconductor with a wide band gap has significantly high off-stateresistance, and it has been proposed that the transistor is used to forma memory element or a signal processing circuit which is used for amemory device (see Patent Documents 2 to 4).

Owing to the high off-state resistance of the transistor in such amemory element, it takes a long time for electric charge accumulated ina capacitor connected to the transistor in series to be lost, and thismakes it possible to reduce consumption of current required for ageneral flip-flop circuit in an SRAM or the like to hold data and tofurther reduce power consumption. Alternatively, a very large capacitorrequired for a DRAM is not necessary, which allows the size of a circuitto be reduced, the manufacturing process to be simplified, and the yieldto be improved.

REFERENCE Patent Documents

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Patent Application No. S57-105889

[Patent Document 2] United States Patent Application Publication No.2011/0121878 [Patent Document 3] United States Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2011/0134683 [Patent Document 4] United States PatentApplication Publication No. 2011/0175646 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, a reduction in area occupied by elements included in asemiconductor device is required with the progress of high integrationof the elements. A reduction in area of a semiconductor device can leadto an increase of the number of semiconductor devices which can beobtained from one substrate and thus to a reduction in cost persemiconductor device. In a memory device, memory elements can bearranged with higher density as the area per memory element is smaller,so that the amount of data per unit area can be increased.

Further, a semiconductor device capable of operating with lower power isdesired for a reduction in power consumption of a device including thesemiconductor device. In view of the above, a memory device is requiredto be able to hold data even after supply of power is stopped.

The present invention is made in view of the foregoing technicalbackground. Therefore, an object of an embodiment of the presentinvention is to provide a semiconductor device with reduced area.Another object is to provide a semiconductor device capable of operatingwith lower power. Another object is to provide a semiconductor devicecapable of holding data even after supply of power is stopped.

An embodiment of the present invention achieves at least one of theabove objects.

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a first transistor, a second transistor, and acapacitor.

In the above semiconductor device, data is written by accumulatingelectric charge in the capacitor through the second transistor and heldby turning off the second transistor. A potential of a node between thesecond transistor and the capacitor (also referred to as a holding node)is applied to a gate electrode of the first transistor. Data can be readwithout being destroyed by detecting a conduction state of the firsttransistor.

Further, the second transistor and the capacitor are formed over thefirst transistor to overlap with the first transistor, preferably tooverlap with the gate electrode of the first transistor. One electrode(a source electrode or a drain electrode) of the second transistor andone electrode of the capacitor are electrically connected to the gateelectrode of the first transistor.

In other words, a semiconductor device of an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a first transistor, a second transistor, and acapacitor. The first transistor includes a first semiconductor layer, afirst insulating layer over and in contact with the first semiconductorlayer, and a first electrode layer which is over and in contact with thefirst insulating layer and overlaps with the first semiconductor layer.The second transistor includes a second semiconductor layer which isformed over the first electrode layer to overlap therewith andelectrically connected to the first electrode layer, a second insulatinglayer in contact with a side surface of the second semiconductor layer,a second electrode layer which is in contact with the second insulatinglayer and covers at least part of the side surface of the secondsemiconductor layer, and a third electrode layer which is formed overthe second semiconductor layer and electrically connected to the secondsemiconductor layer. The capacitor includes a fourth electrode layerformed over the first electrode layer to overlap therewith and adielectric layer between the first electrode layer and the fourthelectrode layer.

With such a structure, a semiconductor device with reduced area can beobtained.

When data is written to or erased from the semiconductor device, onlyvoltage which makes the second transistor be turned on is needed;therefore, high voltage which is needed for a flash memory is notneeded. Accordingly, the semiconductor device can operate with extremelylow power.

The first semiconductor layer of the semiconductor device is preferablyformed using single crystal silicon.

With such a structure, data held in the semiconductor device can be readat extremely high speed.

A semiconductor device of another embodiment of the present inventionincludes a first transistor, a second transistor, and a capacitor. Thefirst transistor includes a fifth electrode layer, a first semiconductorlayer which is formed over the fifth electrode layer to overlaptherewith and electrically connected to the fifth electrode layer, afirst insulating layer in contact with a side surface of the firstsemiconductor layer, a first electrode layer which is in contact withthe first insulating layer and covers at least part of the side surfaceof the first semiconductor layer, and a sixth electrode layer which isformed over the first semiconductor layer and electrically connected tothe first semiconductor layer. The second transistor includes a secondsemiconductor layer which is formed over the first electrode layer tooverlap therewith and electrically connected to the first electrodelayer, a second insulating layer in contact with a side surface of thesecond semiconductor layer, a second electrode layer which is in contactwith the second insulating layer and covers at least part of the sidesurface of the second semiconductor layer, and a third electrode layerwhich is formed over the second semiconductor layer and electricallyconnected to the second semiconductor layer. The capacitor includes afourth electrode layer formed over the first electrode layer to overlaptherewith and a dielectric layer between the first electrode layer andthe fourth electrode layer.

With such a structure, an area of the first transistor can be reduced,so that an area of the semiconductor device can be further reduced.

Further, in any of the semiconductor devices, the second semiconductorlayer preferably includes a semiconductor whose band gap is wider thanthat of silicon.

Thus, a transistor having reduced off-state current can be used as thesecond transistor. Accordingly, a potential held in a holding node canbe held for a long time even after supply of power is stopped.Therefore, the semiconductor device can hold data even after supply ofpower is stopped.

The semiconductor of the second semiconductor layer is preferably anoxide semiconductor.

The oxide semiconductor preferably includes In, Ga, and Zn.

As described above, an oxide semiconductor is preferably usedparticularly as the semiconductor included in a channel of the secondtransistor. The oxide semiconductor whose band gap is wider than that ofsilicon can realize small off-state current.

In particular, in the case where an oxide semiconductor including In,Ga, and Zn is used for a transistor, even when the oxide semiconductoris in an amorphous state formed at relatively low temperature, thetransistor has favorable electric characteristics (e.g., highfield-effect mobility or a small S value) and high reliability comparedto a transistor including another oxide semiconductor, which ispreferable. For example, zinc oxide which is one of oxide semiconductorsis likely to be in a polycrystalline state at low temperature, and it isdifficult to obtain desired electric characteristics such as highfield-effect mobility and a small S value due to grain boundaries.

Further, in the semiconductor device including the semiconductor whoseband gap is wider than that of silicon, the dielectric layer ispreferably formed using the same film as the second semiconductor layer.

The semiconductor used for the second semiconductor layer can also beused for the dielectric layer included in the capacitor because of itsextremely high resistance. Therefore, in any of the above structures,the second transistor and the capacitor can be formed over a gateelectrode of the first transistor through a common process. Thus, aprocess of manufacturing the semiconductor device can be simplified andthe semiconductor device can be manufactured at low cost with highyield.

In any of the semiconductor devices, a driver circuit is preferablyprovided below the first transistor.

In this manner, the area of the semiconductor device including a drivercircuit in a lower portion can be smaller than the area of asemiconductor device in which a driver circuit is provided withoutoverlapping with an element such as a first transistor, a secondtransistor, or a capacitor.

Further, in any of the semiconductor devices, a plurality of layers ofsemiconductor devices each including the first transistor, the secondtransistor, and the capacitor is preferably stacked.

In this manner, a plurality of layers of semiconductor devices each ofwhich is an embodiment of the present invention can be stacked. Such astack-type semiconductor device can achieve high integration, and thusthe amount of data which can be held in the area occupied by onesemiconductor device can be increased.

Note that a memory device is an embodiment of a semiconductor device inthis specification. A memory device refers to a device capable ofholding at least a storage state of data. A device which includes aplurality of memory devices each holding a storage state of data is alsoan embodiment of the memory device. Further, a module in which a drivercircuit or an integrated circuit (IC) for driving a memory device ismounted on the memory device is also a memory device.

According to the present invention, a semiconductor device with reducedarea can be provided. Further, a semiconductor device capable ofoperating with low power can be provided. Furthermore, a semiconductordevice capable of holding data even after supply of power is stopped canbe provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate semiconductor devices according to embodimentsof the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A to 4C illustrate a semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a semiconductor device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example of a process of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an example of a process of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an example of a process of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an example of a process of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 10A to 10D illustrate an example of a process of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 11A to 11C illustrate an example of a process of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 12A to 12C illustrate a semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a semiconductor device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a semiconductor device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 15 illustrates a semiconductor device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate a semiconductor device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 17A and 17B each illustrate an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 18A to 18C illustrate electronic devices according to embodimentsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is notlimited to the following description, and it will be easily understoodby those skilled in the art that modes and details of the presentinvention can be modified in various ways without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the presentinvention should not be construed as being limited to the description inthe following embodiments. Note that in the structures of the presentinvention described below, the same portions or portions having similarfunctions are denoted by the same reference numerals in differentdrawings, and description of such portions is not repeated.

Note that in each drawing described in this specification, the size, thelayer thickness, or the region of each component is exaggerated forclarity in some cases. Therefore, embodiments of the present inventionare not limited to such scales.

A transistor is a kind of semiconductor elements and can achieveamplification of current or voltage, switching operation for controllingconduction or non-conduction, or the like. A transistor in thisspecification includes an insulated-gate field effect transistor (IGFET)and a thin film transistor (TFT).

Functions of a “source” and a “drain” are sometimes replaced with eachother when a transistor of opposite polarity is used or when thedirection of current flowing is changed in circuit operation, forexample. Therefore, the terms “source” and “drain” can be used to denotethe drain and the source, respectively, in this specification.

In this specification and the like, one of a source and a drain of atransistor is called a “first electrode” and the other of the source andthe drain is called a “second electrode” in some cases. Note that a gateis referred to as a “gate” or a “gate electrode”.

Note that in this specification and the like, the term “electricallyconnected” includes the case where components are connected through anobject having any electric function. There is no particular limitationon an object having any electric function as long as electric signalscan be transmitted and received between components that are connectedthrough the object. Examples of an “object having any electric function”include a switching element such as a transistor, a resistor, a coil, acapacitor, and an element with a variety of functions in addition to anelectrode and a wiring.

Note that a node in this specification and the like means an element(e.g., a wiring) which enables electric connection between elementsincluded in a circuit. Therefore, a “node to which A is connected” is awiring which is electrically connected to A and can be regarded ashaving the same potential as A. Note that even when one or more elementswhich enable electrical connection (e.g., switches, transistors,capacitors, inductors, resistors, or diodes) are in a portion of thewiring, the wiring can be regarded as the “node to which A is connected”as long as it has the same potential as A.

In this specification and the like, when two or more components areformed from the same material at the same time, these components aredefined as exiting in the same layer. For example, when a layer isformed and then subjected to etching and so on to produce a component Aand a component B, they are regarded as the components exiting in thesame layer.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, as an example of a semiconductor device of anembodiment of the present invention, an example of a structure of amemory device will be described with reference to drawings.

FIG. 1A is a circuit diagram of a main portion of the memory device ofan embodiment of the present invention. The memory device includes atransistor 101, a transistor 102, and a capacitor 103.

The memory device includes a node (holding node R) to which a gateelectrode of the transistor 101, a first electrode of the transistor102, and one electrode of the capacitor 103 are electrically connected.

A wiring S2 is electrically connected to a first electrode of thetransistor 101 and a wiring D is electrically connected to a secondelectrode of the transistor 101. A wiring W1 is electrically connectedto a gate electrode of the transistor 102 and a wiring S1 iselectrically connected to a second electrode of the transistor 102. Awiring W2 is electrically connected to the other electrode of thecapacitor 103.

When data is written to the memory device, a potential for turning onthe transistor 102 is input to the wiring W1 and a predeterminedpotential is input to the second electrode of the transistor 102 fromthe wiring S1, so that the predetermined potential can be written to theholding node R through the transistor 102. After that, a potential forturning off the transistor 102 is input to the wiring W1, so that thepotential written to the holding node R is held.

The transistor 101 whose gate electrode is connected to the holding nodeR is either in an on state or an off state depending on a potential heldin the holding node R. Therefore, data can be read by inputting apotential for reading data to one of the wiring S2 and the wiring D anddetecting a potential of the other.

Thus, when data is written to or erased from the memory device of anembodiment of the present invention, only voltage for turning on thetransistor 102 is needed. That is, as voltage needed for writing data tothe holding node R, only voltage for controlling an on state and an offstate of the transistor 101 is needed. Accordingly, unlike a flashmemory, the memory device of an embodiment of the present invention doesnot need high voltage in driving, whereby power consumption of thememory device can be significantly reduced.

As the transistor 102, a transistor with reduced leakage current in anoff state (off-state current) compared to a transistor including siliconfor a semiconductor where a channel is formed is preferably used.Specifically, a transistor including a semiconductor whose band gap iswider than that of silicon as a semiconductor where a channel is formedis used. A compound semiconductor is an example of the semiconductorwhose band gap is wider than that of silicon. Examples of the compoundsemiconductor include an oxide semiconductor, a nitride semiconductor,and the like.

Specifically, the band gap of silicon (1.1 eV) is not high enough togive very high off-state resistance. It is preferable to use a wide bandgap semiconductor whose band gap is greater than or equal to 2.5 eV andless than or equal to 4 eV, preferably greater than or equal to 3 eV andless than or equal to 3.8 eV. For example, an oxide semiconductor suchas indium oxide or zinc oxide, a nitride semiconductor such as galliumnitride, or a sulfide semiconductor such as zinc sulfide may be used.

In particular, an oxide semiconductor is preferably used as thesemiconductor where the channel of the transistor 102 is formed. Anoxide semiconductor has a wide energy gap of 3.0 eV or greater. In atransistor obtained by processing an oxide semiconductor underappropriate conditions, the leakage current per 1 μm of channel widthbetween a source and a drain in the off state (off-state current) can be100 zA (1×10⁻¹⁹ A) or lower or 10 zA (1×10⁻²⁰ A) or lower, and furthercan be 1 zA (1×10⁻²¹ A) or lower with a source-drain voltage of 3.5 V atan operating temperature (e.g., at 25° C.). Thus, a semiconductor devicewith low power consumption can be provided.

In particular, in the case where an oxide semiconductor including In,Ga, and Zn is used for a transistor, even when the oxide semiconductoris formed in an amorphous state at relatively low temperature, thetransistor has favorable electric characteristics (e.g., highfield-effect mobility or a small S value) and high reliability comparedto a transistor including another oxide semiconductor, which ispreferable. For example, zinc oxide which is one of oxide semiconductorsis likely to be in a polycrystalline state at low temperature, and it isdifficult to obtain desired electric characteristics such as highfield-effect mobility and a small S value due to grain boundaries.

In this manner, with the use of a transistor with reduced off-statecurrent as the transistor 102, a potential held in the holding node Rcan be held for a long time. Further, data can be held even after supplyof power to the memory device is stopped.

FIG. 1B is a schematic view of the memory device of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

In the memory device, the transistor 102 and the capacitor 103 arestacked over the transistor 101.

The transistor 101 is a transistor that includes a single crystalsemiconductor as a semiconductor where a channel is formed. Thetransistor 101 includes a semiconductor layer 115, a first electrodelayer 112 and a second electrode layer 113 which are electricallyconnected to the semiconductor layer 115, a gate insulating layer 114over and in contact with the semiconductor layer 115, and a gateelectrode layer 111 which is over and in contact with the gateinsulating layer 114 and overlaps with a channel formation region in thesemiconductor layer 115. A channel direction of the transistor 101 isparallel to an upper surface of the semiconductor layer 115.

The transistor 102 includes a semiconductor layer 125 which is formedover the gate electrode layer 111 and electrically connected to the gateelectrode layer 111, an electrode layer 122 which is formed over thesemiconductor layer 125 and electrically connected to the semiconductorlayer 125, a gate insulating layer 124 formed in contact with a sidesurface of the semiconductor layer 125, and a gate electrode layer 121which is in contact with the gate insulating layer 124 and faces theside surface of the semiconductor layer 125. The transistor 102 is aso-called vertical transistor. Thus, a channel direction of thetransistor 102 is perpendicular to that of the transistor 101 and to theupper surface of the semiconductor layer 115.

The capacitor 103 includes an electrode layer 132 stacked over the gateelectrode layer 111 and a dielectric layer 134 between the gateelectrode layer 111 and the electrode layer 132. Hence, the channel ofthe transistor 101 overlaps with the semiconductor layer 125 of thetransistor 102 and the dielectric layer 134 of the capacitor 103.

Here, the electrode layer 122 is electrically connected to the wiring S1in FIG. 1A. The gate electrode layer 121, the electrode layer 132, thefirst electrode layer 112, and the second electrode layer 113 areelectrically connected to the wiring W1, the wiring W2, the wiring S2,and the wiring D, respectively. The gate electrode layer 111 correspondsto the holding node R.

As illustrated in FIG. 1B, when the transistor 102 which is a verticaltransistor and the capacitor 103 are stacked over the gate electrodelayer 111 of the transistor 101, the area of the memory device can bereduced. Further, the gate electrode layer 111 also serves as oneelectrode of the transistor 102 and one electrode of the capacitor 103,so that the memory device can have a simple structure and can bemanufactured at lower cost.

In particular, when a single crystal semiconductor is used for thetransistor 101 for reading data, data can be read at high speed.

When a material whose band gap is wider than that of silicon is used fora semiconductor included in the semiconductor layer 125, the materialcan be used also for a dielectric layer of the capacitor because of itsextremely high resistance. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, thedielectric layer 134 of the capacitor 103 preferably includes the samematerial as the semiconductor layer 125 of the transistor 102. In otherwords, it is preferred that the semiconductor layer 125 and thedielectric layer 134 exist in the same layer. With such a structure, thetransistor 102 and the capacitor 103 can be manufactured through acommon manufacturing process, so that the process of manufacturing thememory device can be simplified and the memory device can bemanufactured at low cost with high yield.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, a thin film of an insulatingmaterial may be used as the dielectric layer 134 of the capacitor 103.When a thin film of an insulating material is used as the dielectriclayer 134, the thickness of the dielectric layer 134 can be small andthe capacitance of the capacitor 103 can be increased.

The channel length of the transistor 102 can be controlled by changingthe thickness of the semiconductor layer 125. Accordingly, a channellength can be controlled by the thickness of the semiconductor layer 125even when a line width of the gate electrode layer 111, the electrodelayer 122, or the like is extremely small due to miniaturization.

The semiconductor layer 125 has a prismatic shape in FIG. 1B and FIG. 2Abut may have another shape. FIG. 2B is a schematic view of the casewhere the semiconductor layer 125 has a cylindrical shape. In FIG. 2C,the gate electrode layer 121 and the gate insulating layer 124 in FIG.2B are illustrated by dashed lines.

For example, when the semiconductor layer 125 has a prismatic shape, theeffective width of the channel formed near the side surface of thesemiconductor layer 125 can be large, so that on-state current of thetransistor 102 can be increased. In contrast, when the semiconductorlayer 125 has a cylindrical shape as illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 2C, aside surface thereof is not projected, so that a gate electric field canbe uniformly applied to the whole of the side surface and the transistor102 can have high reliability. In order to further increase the on-statecurrent, the shape of a bottom surface of the semiconductor layer 125may be, for example, a polygon that contains at least one interior anglelarger than 180° (a concave polygon), such as a star polygon, so thatthe effective channel width can be increased.

In FIG. 1B, although the gate electrode layer 121 faces part of the sidesurface of the semiconductor layer 125 with the gate insulating layer124 provided therebetween, the gate electrode layer 121 may cover atleast part of the side surface of the semiconductor layer 125. Forexample, the gate electrode layer 121 may surround the outer peripheryof the semiconductor layer 125, or the gate electrode layer 121 may beprovided on one side surface of the semiconductor layer 125, whereby thedegree of integration can be increased. When the gate electrode layer121 surrounds the side surface of the semiconductor layer 125 asillustrated in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the effective channel width of thetransistor 102 can be large and thus on-state current can be increased.

In the memory device described in this embodiment as an example, thetransistor 102 and the capacitor 103 are stacked over the transistor 101and a vertical transistor is used as the transistor 102; therefore, thearea of the memory device can be significantly reduced. Further, highvoltage is not needed for writing and erasing data, so that the memorydevice can operate with extremely low power.

Furthermore, since a transistor with reduced off-state current is usedas the transistor 102, data can be held even after supply of power isstopped and can be held for an extremely long time.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodimentsdisclosed in this specification as appropriate.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, as an example of a semiconductor device of anembodiment of the present invention, another example of a structure of amemory device will be described with reference to drawings. Note thatdescription of the same portions as those in the above embodiment isomitted or simplified.

Structure Example

FIG. 3A is a circuit diagram of a main portion of the memory devicewhich is described as an example in this embodiment.

Here, one memory element includes two transistors and one capacitor.

The memory device illustrated in FIG. 3A includes a memory element 110 aincluding a transistor 101 a, a transistor 102 a, and a capacitor 103 aand a memory element 110 b including a transistor 101 b, a transistor102 b, and a capacitor 103 b. The structures of the memory elements 110a and 110 b can be similar to that of the memory device described inEmbodiment 1.

In the memory device, the wiring W1 is electrically connected to gatesof the transistor 102 a and the transistor 102 b, the wiring W2 iselectrically connected to one electrode of each of the capacitor 103 aand the capacitor 103 b, a wiring S11 is electrically connected to firstelectrodes of the transistor 102 a and the transistor 101 a, a wiringS12 is electrically connected to first electrodes of the transistor 102b and the transistor 101 b, and the wiring S2 is electrically connectedto second electrodes of the transistor 101 a and the transistor 101 b.

In this manner, the wiring S11 (or the wiring S12) serves as both thewiring S1 and the wiring D in Embodiment 1 and the wiring S2 is used incommon between adjacent memory elements, so that the number of wiringscan be reduced.

Although a structure including two memory elements is illustrated inFIG. 3A for simplicity, pairs of two memory elements are practicallypreferably arranged in a periodic manner along the wiring W1, the wiringS2, and the like.

Next, the operation of the memory device illustrated in FIG. 3A isdescribed.

In data writing, a potential for turning on the transistor 102 a and thetransistor 102 b is applied to the wiring W1. Then, a desired potentialis applied to each of the wiring S11 and the wiring S12, so that datacan be written to a holding node of each memory element through thetransistor 102 a or the transistor 102 b.

In data reading, a common potential is applied to the wiring S2. Whenthe holding node of the memory element 110 a holds a potential forturning on the transistor 101 a or the holding node of the memoryelement 110 b holds a potential for turning on the transistor 101 b, thepotential of the wiring S11 or the wiring S12 is changed. On the otherhand, when a potential of the holding node of the memory element 110 ais a potential for turning off the transistor 101 a or a potential ofthe holding node of the memory element 110 b is a potential for turningoff the transistor 101 b, the potential of the wiring S11 or the wiringS12 is not changed. Therefore, data written to each memory element canbe read in such a manner that a change in the potential of the wiringS11 or the wiring S12 is detected by a sense amplifier or the like.

Here, in the case where data of another memory element provided alongthe wiring S2 is read, the transistor 101 a and the transistor 101 b arerequired to be surely turned off. In this case, a desired potential isapplied to the wiring W2, so that the potentials of holding nodes arechanged to potentials for turning off the transistor 101 a and thetransistor 101 b through the capacitor 103 a and the capacitor 103 b. Inthis manner, data of another memory element provided along the wiring S2can be surely read.

The above is the description of the operation of the memory device.

FIG. 3B is a schematic top view of the memory device described in thisembodiment.

In FIG. 3B, a wiring layer 201 serving as the wiring W1, a wiring layer202 serving as the wiring W2, a wiring layer 203 a serving as the wiringS11, a wiring layer 203 b serving as the wiring S12, and a wiring layer204 serving as the wiring S2 are illustrated.

The transistor 102 a is provided in a region where the wiring layer 201and the wiring layer 203 a overlap with each other. The transistor 102 bis provided in a region where the wiring layer 201 and the wiring layer203 b overlap with each other. The capacitor 103 a is provided in aregion where the wiring layer 202 and the wiring layer 203 a overlapwith each other. The capacitor 103 b is provided in a region where thewiring layer 202 and the wiring layer 203 b overlap with each other.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are schematic cross-sectional views taken along lineA-A′, line B-B′, and line C-C′ in FIG. 3B, respectively. FIG. 4A is aschematic cross-sectional view of a region including the transistor 102a and the capacitor 103 a, which is taken along the wiring layer 203 a.FIG. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a region including thetransistor 102 a and the transistor 102 b, which is taken along thewiring layer 201. FIG. 4C is a schematic cross-sectional view of aregion including the wiring layer 202, the capacitor 103 a, a connectionelectrode layer 213 b, and a connection electrode layer 213 c.

In the memory element 110 a, the transistor 102 a and the capacitor 103a are stacked over a gate electrode layer 111 a of the transistor 101 a.In the memory element 110 b, the transistor 102 b and the capacitor 103b are stacked over a gate electrode layer 111 b of the transistor 101 b.

The transistor 101 a and the transistor 101 b each include a singlecrystal semiconductor as a semiconductor where a channel is formed.

The transistor 101 a includes the semiconductor layer 115, a firstelectrode layer 112 a and the second electrode layer 113 which areelectrically connected to the semiconductor layer 115, the gateinsulating layer 114 over and in contact with the semiconductor layer115, and the gate electrode layer 111 a which is over and in contactwith the gate insulating layer 114 and overlaps with the semiconductorlayer 115.

Similarly, the transistor 101 b includes the semiconductor layer 115, afirst electrode layer 112 b, the second electrode layer 113, the gateinsulating layer 114, and the gate electrode layer 111 b.

The first electrode layer 112 b of the transistor 101 b is electricallyconnected to the wiring layer 203 b through the connection electrodelayer 213 c. Similarly, the first electrode layer 112 a of thetransistor 101 a is electrically connected to the wiring layer 203 athrough the connection wiring layer 213 c (not illustrated). Further,the second electrode layer 113 which is included in common between thetransistor 101 a and the transistor 101 b is electrically connected tothe wiring layer 204 through the connection electrode layer 213 b.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4C, sidewall insulating layers may beformed on side surfaces of the gate electrode layer 111 a and the gateelectrode layer 111 b.

The transistor 102 a includes the semiconductor layer 125 in contactwith an upper surface of the gate electrode layer 111 a, the electrodelayer 122 in contact with an upper surface of the semiconductor layer125, and the gate insulating layer 124 in contact with a side surface ofthe semiconductor layer 125. Further, the wiring layer 201 is providedin contact with the gate insulating layer 124 to surround the sidesurface of the semiconductor layer 125. Part of the wiring layer 201serves as a gate electrode of the transistor 102 a. Thus, the gateelectrode of the transistor 102 a is located between the gate electrodelayer 111 a of the transistor 101 a and the electrode layer 122 of thetransistor 102 a.

Similarly, the transistor 102 b includes the semiconductor layer 125 incontact with the gate electrode layer 111 b, the electrode layer 122,and the gate insulating layer 124. A side surface of the semiconductorlayer 125 is surrounded by the wiring layer 201. A gate electrode of thetransistor 102 b is also located between the gate electrode layer 111 bof the transistor 101 b and the electrode layer 122 of the transistor102 b.

The electrode layer 122 of the transistor 102 a is electricallyconnected to the wiring layer 203 a through the connection electrodelayer 213 a. The electrode layer 122 of the transistor 102 b iselectrically connected to the wiring layer 203 b also through theconnection electrode layer 213 a.

The capacitor 103 a includes the dielectric layer 134 over and incontact with the gate electrode layer 111 a of the transistor 101 a. Thewiring layer 202 is provided in contact with an upper surface of thedielectric layer 134. Part of the wiring layer 202 serves as oneelectrode of the capacitor 103 a. The dielectric layer 134 is formedusing the same layer as the semiconductor layer 125. That is, thedielectric layer 134 exists in the same layer as the semiconductor layer125.

The capacitor 103 b also includes the dielectric layer 134 over and incontact with the gate electrode layer 111 b and the wiring layer 202 isprovided in contact with the upper surface of the dielectric layer 134.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4C, insulating layers 212 a to 212 h areprovided between electrode layers, wiring layers, and an electrode layerand a wiring layer so that the electrode layers and the wiring layersincluded in the memory device are electrically isolated from oneanother.

An element separation layer 211 for electrically isolating transistorsincluding the semiconductor layer 115 is provided in a substrate servingas the semiconductor layer 115.

Here, in the memory device described as an example in this embodiment,the width of an electrode layer or a wiring layer, and the distancebetween electrode layers, wiring layers, or an electrode layer and awiring layer can be the minimum feature size in the employedmanufacturing process. Given that the minimum feature size is F, thevalue of F is preferably smaller than or equal to 100 nm, morepreferably smaller than or equal to 50 nm, still more preferably smallerthan or equal to 30 nm.

In this structure example, the areas of the transistor 102 a which is avertical transistor and the capacitor 103 a can be reduced to F².

Thus, an electrode layer serves as both one electrode layer of thetransistor 101 a and one electrode layer of the transistor 101 b, sothat the two memory elements can be arranged as close as possible.Further, when the transistor 102 a and the capacitor 103 a are stackedover the gate electrode layer 111 a of the transistor 101 a, the area ofone memory element can be reduced.

The above is the description of the structure example of the memorydevice described as an example in this embodiment.

Modification Example

In the above structure example, the same layer as the semiconductorlayer of the vertical transistor is used as the dielectric layer of thecapacitor (that is, the dielectric layer and the semiconductor layerexist in the same layer). In the following, the case where a thin filmof an insulating material is used as the dielectric layer is described.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view in which the structure of thecapacitor 103 a is different from that in FIG. 4A. Note that thestructures other than the structure of the capacitor 103 a are similarto those in the above structure example.

The capacitor 103 a includes the dielectric layer 134 over and incontact with the gate electrode layer 111 a of the transistor 101 a andthe electrode layer 132 in contact with the upper surface of thedielectric layer 134. The wiring layer 202 is provided in contact withan upper surface of the electrode layer 132.

The dielectric layer 134 is formed using a thin film of an insulatingmaterial. With such a structure, the dielectric layer 134 can be thin,so that capacitance per unit area can be increased.

Here, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the dielectric layer 134 preferablyexists in the same layer as the gate insulating layer 124 of thetransistor 102 a. Further, the electrode layer 132 preferably exists inthe same layer as the wiring layer 201. When the dielectric layer 134and the electrode layer 132 are formed using the same layers included inthe transistor 102 a, the capacitor 103 a and the transistor 102 a canbe formed through the same process, so that the manufacturing processcan be simplified.

The above is the description of this modification example.

Example of Manufacturing Process

An example of a method for manufacturing the memory device described inthe above structure example is described below with reference todrawings. In this example of the manufacturing process, with a fewexceptions, just an outline is described. Refer to a known technique formanufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit for the details.

FIGS. 6A and 6B, FIGS. 7A and 7B, FIGS. 8A and 8B, and FIGS. 9A and 9Bare schematic top views and schematic cross-sectional views atrespective stages in this example of the manufacturing process. Forexample, FIG. 6A is a schematic top view at a stage and FIG. 6B is aschematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ and line B-B′ inFIG. 6A.

First, a substrate including a semiconductor material is prepared. Asthe substrate containing a semiconductor material, a single crystalsemiconductor substrate or a microcrystalline semiconductor substrate ofsilicon, silicon carbide, or the like; a compound semiconductorsubstrate of silicon germanium or the like; an SOI substrate; or thelike can be used. Here, an example of the case where a single crystalsilicon substrate is used as the substrate including a semiconductormaterial is described. Note that in general, the “SOI substrate” means asubstrate in which a silicon semiconductor layer is provided on aninsulating surface. In this specification and the like, the “SOIsubstrate” also includes a substrate in which a semiconductor layercontaining a material other than silicon is provided on an insulatingsurface. That is, the “SOI substrate” includes a structure in which asemiconductor layer is provided over an insulating substrate such as aglass substrate with an insulating layer interposed therebetween.

Next, the element separation layer 211 is formed in the substrate. Theelement separation layer 211 may be formed by a known local oxidation ofsilicon (LOCOS) process or the like. Before or after this step, animpurity element imparting n-type conductivity or an impurity elementimparting p-type conductivity may be added to the substrate in order tocontrol the threshold voltages of the transistor 101 a and thetransistor 101 b formed later. In the case where the semiconductormaterial included in the substrate is silicon, phosphorus, arsenic, orthe like can be used as an impurity imparting n-type conductivity, forexample Boron, aluminum, gallium, or the like can be used as an impurityimparting p-type conductivity, for example.

The surface of the substrate is preferably planarized after the elementseparation layer 211 is formed. For example, etching treatment orpolishing treatment such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) may beperformed.

Then, an insulating film is formed over the surface of the substrate,and a conductive film is formed over the insulating film.

The insulating film serves as the gate insulating layers 114 of thetransistor 101 a and the transistor 101 b formed later, and theinsulating film preferably has a single-layer structure or a stackedstructure using a film containing any of silicon oxide, siliconoxynitride, silicon nitride oxide, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide,aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide, yttrium oxide, hafnium silicate(HfSi_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)), hafnium silicate to which nitrogen is added,hafnium aluminate (HfAl_(x)O_(y)>0, y>0)) to which nitrogen is added,and the like formed by a CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like.Alternatively, the surface of the substrate may be oxidized or nitridedby high-density plasma treatment or heat treatment (such as thermaloxidation treatment or thermal nitridation treatment), whereby theinsulating film is formed. The high-density plasma treatment can beperformed using, for example, a mixed gas of a rare gas such as He, Ar,Kr, or Xe and a gas such as oxygen, nitrogen oxide, ammonia, ornitrogen. There is no particular limitation on the thickness of theinsulating film, and for example, the insulating film can have athickness greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 100nm.

The conductive film serves as the gate electrode layers 111 a and 111 bof the transistor 101 a and the transistor 101 b formed later, and canbe formed using a metal material such as aluminum, copper, titanium,tantalum, tungsten, chromium, nickel, or molybdenum. Alternatively, theconductive film can be formed using a semiconductor material such aspolycrystalline silicon containing a conductive material. There is noparticular limitation on the method for forming the conductive film, andany kind of film formation methods such as an evaporation method, a CVDmethod, a sputtering method, and a spin coating method can be employed.Note that this embodiment shows an example of the case where theconductive film is formed using a metal material.

Since the conductive film also serves as one electrode of each of thetransistor 102 a and the transistor 102 b formed later, a material ofthe conductive film is preferably selected in consideration of theelectron affinity of a semiconductor material used for the semiconductorlayer 125. Further, the conductive film may have a stacked structureincluding two or more conductive films, in which the uppermostconductive film (the layer in contact with the semiconductor layer 125)is formed using a material suitable for the electrodes of the transistor102 a and the transistor 102 b.

Next, an unnecessary portion of the conductive film is etched, so thatthe gate electrode layer 111 a and the gate electrode layer 111 b areformed.

Next, sidewall insulating layers in contact with the side surfaces ofthe gate electrode layer 111 a and the gate electrode layer 111 b areformed. An insulating film is formed so as to cover the gate electrodelayer 111 a and the gate electrode layer 111 b and then subjected tohighly anisotropic etching, whereby the sidewall insulating layers canbe formed in a self-aligned manner.

In the etching treatment in the formation of the sidewall insulatinglayers, part of the insulating film serving as the gate insulating layer114, which does not overlap with any of the gate electrode layer 111 a,the gate electrode layer 111 b, and the sidewall insulating layers, isetched at the same time, so that the gate insulating layer 114 isformed.

By provision of the sidewall insulating layers, impurity regions towhich an impurity element is added at different concentrations can beformed in a later step of adding an impurity. Thus, adverse effects suchas a short channel effect can be suppressed, which is preferable. Notethat when high integration is required, a structure without a sidewallis employed, whereby the size of the transistor can be reduced.

Next, an impurity such as phosphorus or arsenic is added with the use ofthe gate electrode layer 111 a, the gate electrode layer 111 b, and thesidewall insulating layers as masks, whereby the first electrode layer112 a, the first electrode layer 112 b, and the second electrode layer113 are formed. Note that an impurity element such as boron or aluminummay be added in the case of forming a p-channel transistor, and animpurity element such as phosphorus or arsenic may be added in the caseof forming an n-channel transistor. The concentration of the impurityadded can be set as appropriate; the concentration of the impurity addedis preferably increased in the case where the semiconductor element ishighly miniaturized. Note that it is preferable to perform heattreatment after an impurity element is added in order to activate theimpurity element, to reduce defects which might be generated duringaddition of the impurity element, or the like.

Through the above steps, the transistor 101 a and the transistor 101 bcan be formed.

After that, an insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 a isformed and planarization treatment is performed so as to expose the gateelectrode layer 111 a and the gate electrode layer 111 b. Thus, theinsulating layer 212 a is formed.

The insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 a can be formedto have a single-layer structure or a stacked-layer structure using afilm including an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide,silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride oxide, silicon nitride, aluminumoxide, hafnium oxide, or tantalum oxide. Alternatively, the insulatingfilm serving as the insulating layer 212 a can be formed using anorganic insulating material such as a polyimide or an acrylic resin aslong as it can withstand heat treatment in a later step.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a schematic top view and a schematic cross-sectionalview at this stage.

Next, a semiconductor film serving as the semiconductor layer 125 isformed over the gate electrode layer 111 a, the gate electrode layer 111b, and the insulating layer 212 a. In consideration of a reduction inthickness in a later planarization step, here, the thickness of thesemiconductor film is preferably larger than the desired channel length.

Although a semiconductor material such as silicon can be used as amaterial of the semiconductor film, a semiconductor material whose bandgap is wider than that of silicon is preferably used. A compoundsemiconductor is an example of the semiconductor whose band gap is widerthan that of silicon. Examples of the compound semiconductor include anoxide semiconductor, a nitride semiconductor, and the like.

The off-state resistance of a transistor is inversely proportional tothe concentration of carriers thermally excited in a semiconductor layerin which a channel is formed. Since the band gap of silicon is 1.1 eVeven in the absence of carrier caused by a donor or an acceptor (i.e.,even in the case of an intrinsic semiconductor), the concentration ofthermally excited carriers at room temperature (300 K) is approximately1×10¹¹ cm⁻³.

On the other hand, for example, in the case of a semiconductor whoseband gap is 3.2 eV, the concentration of thermally excited carriers isapproximately 1×10⁻⁷ cm⁻³. When the electron mobility is the same, theresistivity is inversely proportional to the carrier concentration, andthus the resistivity of the semiconductor having a band gap of 3.2 eV ishigher by 18 digits than that of silicon.

The off-state current of a transistor including such a semiconductorhaving a wide band gap can be extremely small. When such a transistor isused as each of the transistor 102 a and the transistor 102 b, apotential held in a holding node of each memory element can be held foran extremely long time.

In this embodiment, as the semiconductor film, an oxide semiconductorfilm is formed by a sputtering method, specifically, by a sputteringmethod with the use of an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide semiconductor target.

Note that the material which can be used for the oxide semiconductorfilm is not limited to the above. An oxide semiconductor preferablycontains at least indium (In) or zinc (Zn). In particular, In and Zn arepreferably contained.

As a stabilizer for reducing variation in electric characteristics of atransistor including the oxide semiconductor, it is preferable that oneor more elements selected from gallium (Ga), tin (Sn), hafnium (Hf),aluminum (Al), and lanthanoid be contained.

As lanthanoid, there are lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr),neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium(Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm),ytterbium (Yb), and lutetium (Lu).

For example, indium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, or the like can beused as the oxide semiconductor.

As the oxide semiconductor, an In—Zn-based oxide, a Sn—Zn-based oxide,an Al—Zn-based oxide, a Zn—Mg-based oxide, a Sn—Mg-based oxide, anIn—Mg-based oxide, an In—Ga-based oxide, or the like can be used.

As the oxide semiconductor, an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide (also referred to asIGZO), an In—Sn—Zn-based oxide, a Sn—Ga—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Al—Zn-based oxide, an In—Hf—Zn-based oxide, an In—La—Zn-based oxide,an In—Ce—Zn-based oxide, an In—Pr—Zn-based oxide, an In—Nd—Zn-basedoxide, an In—Sm—Zn-based oxide, an In—Eu—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Gd—Zn-based oxide, an In—Tb—Zn-based oxide, an In—Dy—Zn-based oxide,an In—Ho—Zn-based oxide, an In—Er—Zn-based oxide, an In—Tm—Zn-basedoxide, an In—Yb—Zn-based oxide, an In—Lu—Zn-based oxide, anAl—Ga—Zn-based oxide, a Sn—Al—Zn-based oxide, or the like can be used.

As the oxide semiconductor, an In—Sn—Ga—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Hf—Ga—Zn-based oxide, an In—Al—Ga—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Sn—Al—Zn-based oxide, an In—Sn—Hf—Zn-based oxide, anIn—Hf—Al—Zn-based oxide, or the like can be used.

Note that here, for example, an “In—Ga—Zn-based oxide” means an oxidecontaining In, Ga, and Zn as its main component and there is noparticular limitation on the ratio of In:Ga:Zn. The In—Ga—Zn-based oxidemay contain another metal element in addition to In, Ga, and Zn.

Alternatively, the oxide semiconductor film can be formed using an oxidesemiconductor obtained by adding SiO₂ to any of the above metal oxides.

Moreover, the oxide semiconductor film can be formed using an oxidesemiconductor represented by InMO₃(ZnO)_(m) (m>0). Here, M representsone or more metal elements selected from Ga, Al, Mn, and Co.

For example, it is possible to use an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide with anatomic ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 or In:Ga:Zn=2:2:1, or an oxide with anatomic ratio close to the above atomic ratios.

Alternatively, an In—Sn—Zn-based oxide with an atomic ratio ofIn:Sn:Zn=1:1:1, In:Sn:Zn=2:1:3, or In:Sn:Zn=2:1:5, or an oxide with anatomic ratio close to the above atomic ratios may be used.

However, the oxide semiconductor is not limited to the above, and amaterial with an appropriate composition may be used depending on neededsemiconductor characteristics (e.g., mobility, threshold voltage, andtheir variation). In order to obtain the needed semiconductorcharacteristics, it is preferable that the carrier concentration, theimpurity concentration, the defect density, the atomic ratio between ametal element and oxygen, the interatomic distance, the density, and thelike be set to appropriate values.

For example, high mobility can be obtained relatively easily in the caseof using an In—Sn—Zn-based oxide. However, mobility can be increased byreducing the defect density in a bulk also in the case of using anIn—Ga—Zn-based oxide.

Note that for example, the expression “the composition of an oxide withan atomic ratio of In:Ga:Zn=a:b:c (a+b+c=1) is in the neighborhood ofthe composition of an oxide with an atomic ratio of In:Ga:Zn=A:B:C(A+B+C=1)” means that a, b, and c satisfy the following relation:(a−A)²+(b−B)²+(c−C)²≤r², and r may be 0.05, for example. The sameapplies to other oxides.

The oxide semiconductor may be either single crystal ornon-single-crystal. In the case where the oxide semiconductor isnon-single-crystal, the oxide semiconductor may be either amorphous orpolycrystalline. Further, the oxide semiconductor may have a structureincluding a crystalline portion in an amorphous portion. Note that theamorphous structure has many defects; therefore, a non-amorphousstructure is preferred.

In an oxide semiconductor in an amorphous state, a flat surface can beobtained with relative ease, so that when a transistor is manufacturedwith the use of the oxide semiconductor, interface scattering can bereduced, and relatively high mobility can be obtained with relativeease.

In an oxide semiconductor having crystallinity, defects in the bulk canbe further reduced and when a surface flatness is improved, mobilityhigher than that of an oxide semiconductor in an amorphous state can beobtained.

Here, it is preferable that the oxide semiconductor film be formed so asto contain impurities such as alkali metal, a hydrogen atom, a hydrogenmolecule, water, a hydroxyl group, or a hydride as little as possible,for example, in such a manner that the impurities are prevented frombeing mixed into a sputtering target and a gas used for deposition. Inaddition, when a deposition apparatus is sufficiently evacuated duringthe deposition and the oxide semiconductor film is deposited while thesubstrate is heated, the concentration of impurities included in thedeposited oxide semiconductor film can be lowered.

After formation of the oxide semiconductor film, it is preferable thatdehydration treatment (dehydrogenation treatment) be performed to removehydrogen or moisture from the oxide semiconductor film so that the oxidesemiconductor film is highly purified to contain impurities as little aspossible, and that oxygen be added to the oxide semiconductor film tofill oxygen vacancies increased by the dehydration treatment(dehydrogenation treatment). The oxygen can be supplied by a method inwhich heat treatment is performed under an oxygen atmosphere, by amethod in which the oxide semiconductor film is provided in the vicinityof a film releasing oxygen by heating and heat treatment is performed,or the like. In this specification and the like, supplying oxygen to anoxide semiconductor film may be expressed as oxygen adding treatment,and treatment for making the oxygen content of an oxide semiconductorfilm be in excess of that in the stoichiometric composition may beexpressed as treatment for making an oxygen-excess state.

In this manner, hydrogen or moisture is removed from the oxidesemiconductor film by dehydration treatment (dehydrogenation treatment)and oxygen vacancies therein are filled by oxygen adding treatment,whereby the oxide semiconductor film can be turned into an i-type(intrinsic) or substantially i-type oxide semiconductor film. The oxidesemiconductor film formed in such a manner includes extremely few (closeto zero) carriers derived from a donor, and the carrier concentrationthereof is lower than 1×10¹⁴/cm³, preferably lower than 1×10¹²/cm³,further preferably lower than 1×10¹¹/cm³, still further preferably lowerthan 1.45×10¹⁰/cm³.

The transistor including the oxide semiconductor layer which is highlypurified by sufficiently reducing the hydrogen concentration, and inwhich defect levels in the energy gap due to oxygen vacancies arereduced by sufficiently supplying oxygen can achieve excellent off-statecurrent characteristics. For example, the off-state current (per unitchannel width (1 μm) here) at room temperature (25° C.) is 100 zA (1 zA(zeptoampere) is 1×10′¹ A) or smaller, preferably 10 zA or smaller. Theoff-state current at 85° C. is 100 zA (1×10⁻¹⁹ A) or smaller, preferably10 zA (1×10⁻²⁰ A) or smaller. In this manner, the transistor which hasextremely favorable off-state current characteristics can be obtainedwith the use of an i-type (intrinsic) or substantially i-type oxidesemiconductor layer.

Next, an unnecessary portion of the semiconductor film is etched, sothat the semiconductor layer 125 and the dielectric layer 134 areformed.

The semiconductor film is preferably etched using a hard mask. First, aninorganic film serving as a hard mask is formed over the semiconductorfilm, and then a resist is formed over the inorganic film to overlapwith regions for forming the semiconductor layer 125 and the dielectriclayer 134. Here, so-called sliming treatment is preferably performed. Inthe sliming treatment, ashing is performed on the formed resist toreduce the width of the resist. The widths of the semiconductor layer125 and the dielectric layer 134 can be made smaller than the minimumfeature size F by the sliming treatment. Accordingly, even in the casewhere the gate electrode layer 111 a and the gate electrode layer 111 bare formed to have the widths of the minimum feature size F, thesemiconductor layer 125 and the dielectric layer 134 can be formedwithin the regions of the gate electrode layer 111 a and the gateelectrode layer 111 b.

The hard mask is formed in such manner that a region of the inorganicfilm, which is not covered with the resist, is etched. The resist may beremoved after the formation of the hard mask.

In etching of the semiconductor film, a region of the semiconductorfilm, which is not covered with the hard mask, is etched by a highlyanisotropic etching method. Here, the etching is performed under thecondition that the layers provided below the semiconductor film are notetched. Thus, the semiconductor layer 125 having a columnar shape(including a cylindrical shape and a polygonal prismatic shape) can beformed.

Then, the hard mask is removed. In the case where the resist over thehard mask is not removed, the resist is removed and then the hard maskis removed.

Next, an insulating film covering a side surface and an upper surface ofthe semiconductor layer 125 is formed. Part of the insulating filmserves as the gate insulating layer 124. Therefore, the insulating filmis preferably formed such that a portion in contact with the sidesurface of the semiconductor layer 125 has uniform thickness. Theinsulating film can be formed by a deposition method such as a CVDmethod or a sputtering method. It is preferable that the amount ofimpurities containing hydrogen atoms, such as water, hydrogen, and ahydride, be sufficiently small in the insulating film and at theinterface between the insulating film and the semiconductor layer 125.

As the method for forming the insulating film, a high-density plasma CVDmethod using microwaves (e.g., with a frequency of 2.45 GHz) ispreferably employed because a high-quality insulating film which isdense and has high breakdown voltage can be formed. When the highlypurified oxide semiconductor is in contact with the high-quality gateinsulating layer, the interface state can be reduced and interfacecharacteristics can be favorable.

The insulating film can be a single layer or a stack of layerscontaining any of silicon oxide, silicon nitride oxide, siliconoxynitride, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, aluminum oxide, tantalumoxide, yttrium oxide, hafnium silicate (HfSi_(x)O_(y) (x>0, y>0)),hafnium silicate to which nitrogen is added (HfSi_(x)O_(y)N_(z) (x>0,y>0, z>0)), hafnium aluminate to which nitrogen is added(HfAl_(x)O_(y)N_(z) (x>0, y>0, z>0)), and the like, for example.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a schematic top view and a schematic cross-sectionalview at this stage.

Next, a conductive film serving as the wiring layer 201 is formed overthe insulating film serving as the gate insulating layer 124 and anunnecessary portion of the conductive film is etched. After that, aninsulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 b is formed over theinsulating film and the conductive film. Then, planarization treatmentis performed to expose the upper surfaces of the semiconductor layer 125and the dielectric layer 134, whereby the wiring layer 201 and theinsulating layer 212 b are formed.

The conductive film serving as the wiring layer 201 can be formed usinga material and a method similar to those of the conductive film used asthe gate electrode layer 111 a and the gate electrode layer 111 b. Notethat the same applies to conductive films used as the wiring layer 202,the wiring layer 203 a, the wiring layer 203 b, and the wiring layer204.

The insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 b can be formedusing a material and a method similar to those of the insulating filmused as the insulating layer 212 a. Note that the same applies toinsulating films used as the insulating layer 212 c, the insulatinglayer 212 d, the insulating layer 212 e, the insulating layer 212 f, theinsulating layer 212 g, and the insulating layer 212 h.

Next, an insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 c is formedover and in contact with the semiconductor layer 125, the dielectriclayer 134, the gate insulating layer 124, the wiring layer 201, and theinsulating layer 212 b. After that, opening portions reaching thesemiconductor layer 125 and the dielectric layer 134 are formed in theinsulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 c, so that theinsulating layer 212 c is formed.

Next, a conductive film serving as the wiring layer 202 and theelectrode layer 122 is formed over the semiconductor layer 125, thedielectric layer 134, and the insulating layer 212 c. After that, anunnecessary portion of the conductive film is etched, so that the wiringlayer 202 and the electrode layer 122 are formed.

Through the above steps, the transistor 102 a and the capacitor 103 acan be formed over the gate electrode layer 111 a of the transistor 101a. At the same time, the transistor 102 b and the capacitor 103 b areformed over the gate electrode layer 111 b of the transistor 101 b.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a schematic top view and a schematic cross-sectionalview at this stage.

Next, an insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 d is formedover the wiring layer 202, the electrode layer 122, and the insulatinglayer 212 c. After that, planarization treatment is performed to exposeupper surfaces of the wiring layer 202 and the electrode layer 122, sothat the insulating layer 212 d is formed.

Next, an insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 e isformed, so that the insulating layer 212 e is formed.

Then, an opening portion reaching the electrode layer 122 is formed inthe insulating layer 212 e. After that, a conductive film serving as theconnection electrode layer 213 a is formed over the insulating layer 212e and the electrode layer 122 and planarization treatment is performedto expose an upper surface of the insulating layer 212 e. Thus, theconnection electrode layer 213 a electrically connected to the electrodelayer 122 is formed.

At the same time, an opening portion reaching the first electrode layer112 a or the first electrode layer 112 b is formed in the insulatinglayer 212 e, the insulating layer 212 d, the insulating layer 212 c, theinsulating layer 212 b, the insulating film serving as the gateinsulating layer 124, and the insulating layer 212 a. Then, theconnection electrode layer 213 c electrically connected to the firstelectrode layer 112 a or the first electrode layer 112 b is formed (seeFIGS. 4A to 4C).

Next, a conductive film serving as the wiring layer 203 a and the wiringlayer 203 b is formed over the insulating layer 212 e, the connectionelectrode layer 213 a, and the connection electrode layer 213 c and anunnecessary portion of the conductive film is etched. Thus, the wiringlayer 203 a and the wiring layer 203 b are formed.

After that, an insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 f isformed over the insulating layer 212 e, the wiring layer 203 a, and thewiring layer 203 b and planarization treatment is performed to exposeupper surfaces of the wiring layer 203 a and the wiring layer 203 b.Thus, the insulating layer 212 f is formed.

Next, an insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 g is formedover the insulating layer 212 f, the wiring layer 203 a, and the wiringlayer 203 b, so that the insulating layer 212 g is formed.

Next, an opening portion (not illustrated) reaching the second electrodelayer 113 is formed in the insulating layer 212 g, the insulating layer212 f, the insulating layer 212 e, the insulating layer 212 d, theinsulating layer 212 c, the insulating layer 212 b, the insulating filmserving as the gate insulating layer 124, and the insulating layer 212a. After that, a conductive film serving as the connection electrodelayer 213 b is formed over the insulating layer 212 g and the secondelectrode layer 113 and planarization treatment is performed to exposean upper surface of the insulating layer 212 g. Thus, the connectionelectrode layer 213 b (not illustrated) electrically connected to thesecond electrode layer 113 is formed (see FIG. 4C).

Next, a conductive film serving as the wiring layer 204 is formed overthe insulating layer 212 g and the connection electrode layer 213 b (notillustrated), and an unnecessary portion of the conductive film isetched. Thus, the wiring layer 204 is formed (see FIG. 4C).

After that, the insulating layer 212 h covering the insulating layer 212g and the wiring layer 204 may be formed. The insulating layer 212 h maybe formed in such a manner that an insulating film serving as theinsulating layer 212 h is formed and then an upper surface of theinsulating film is planarized by planarization treatment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a schematic top view and a schematic cross-sectionalview at this stage.

Through the above steps, the memory device including the memory element110 a and the memory element 110 b described in the structure example ofthis embodiment can be manufactured.

The method in which the semiconductor layer 125 and the dielectric layer134 are formed with the use of the hard mask is described above;however, the semiconductor layer 125 and the dielectric layer 134 can beformed by another method. A manufacturing method different from theabove method is described below with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10D.

First, the transistor 101 a and the insulating layer 212 a are formed inthe above-described manner.

Next, an insulating layer 212 i and a conductive film serving as thewiring layer 201 are stacked over the insulating layer 212 a and thegate electrode layer 111 a. Here, the insulating layer 212 i is formedto electrically isolate the gate electrode layer 111 a from the wiringlayer 201.

Next, opening portions reaching the gate electrode layer 111 a areformed in the conductive film and the insulating layer 212 i. FIG. 10Ais a schematic cross-sectional view at this stage.

Next, an insulating film serving as the gate insulating layer 124 isformed in contact with side surfaces and bottom surfaces of the openingportions. Alternatively, an upper surface and a side surface of theconductive film may be oxidized to form an insulating film.

After that, highly anisotropic etching treatment is performed on theinsulating film, whereby the upper surfaces of the conductive film andthe gate electrode layer 111 a are exposed and the insulating filmremains only on sidewalls of the opening portions. In this manner, thegate insulating layer 124 in contact with the sidewalls of the openingportions can be formed.

Next, over the conductive film and the gate electrode layer 111 a, asemiconductor film serving as the semiconductor layer 125 and thedielectric layer 134 is formed in contact with the gate insulating layer124. After that, planarization treatment is performed to expose an uppersurface of the conductive film Thus, the semiconductor layer 125 and thedielectric layer 134 are formed in the opening portions. FIG. 10B is aschematic cross-sectional view at this stage.

Next, a resist is formed over the upper surfaces of the conductive film,the gate insulating layer 124, the semiconductor layer 125, and thedielectric layer 134, and an unnecessary portion of the conductive filmis etched. Thus, the wiring layer 201 is formed.

After that, an insulating film serving as the insulating layer 212 b isformed and planarization treatment is performed to expose upper surfacesof the wiring layer 201, the semiconductor layer 125, the dielectriclayer 134, and the gate insulating layer 124. Thus, the insulating layer212 b is formed. FIG. 10C is a schematic cross-sectional view at thisstage.

After that, in the above-described manner, the insulating layer 212 c,the electrode layer 122, and the wiring layer 202 are formed. FIG. 10Dis a schematic cross-sectional view at this stage.

Through the above steps, the transistor 102 a and the capacitor 103 acan be formed over the transistor 101 a.

In this manner, the semiconductor layer 125 and the dielectric layer 134can be surely formed within the region of the gate electrode layer 111 awithout sliming treatment.

The above is the description of the example of this manufacturingprocess.

Modification Example

An example of a method for manufacturing the memory device including athin film of an insulating material as a dielectric layer of acapacitor, which is illustrated in FIG. 5, will be described below withreference to drawings. Note that description of the same portions asthose in the above example of the manufacturing process is omitted.

FIGS. 11A to 11C are schematic cross-sectional views at respectivestages of this modification example.

First, by the method described in the above example of the manufacturingprocess, the transistor 101 a is formed.

Then, the semiconductor layer 125 is formed over the gate electrodelayer 111 a. Although the dielectric layer 134 is formed using the samematerial as the semiconductor layer 125 at the same time in the abovestructure example, the dielectric layer 134 is not formed at this stepin this modification example.

Next, an insulating film serving as the gate insulating layer 124 isformed. Part of the insulating film can be used as the dielectric layer134. FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional view at this stage.

Next, in the step of forming the wiring layer 201, an island-shapedpattern formed using the same conductive film as the wiring layer 201 isformed in a region where the capacitor 103 a is formed, so that theelectrode layer 132 is formed. In this manner, the capacitor 103 a inwhich the dielectric layer 134 formed using the insulating film issandwiched between the gate electrode layer 111 a and the electrodelayer 132 is formed. FIG. 11B is a schematic cross-sectional view atthis stage.

Next, the insulating layer 212 b and the insulating layer 212 c areformed. After that, an opening portion reaching the semiconductor layer125 is formed in the insulating layer 212 c, and at the same time, anopening portion reaching the electrode layer 132 is formed.

Next, the electrode layer 122 and the wiring layer 202 are formed. Thewiring layer 202 is electrically connected to the electrode layer 132through the opening portion provided in the insulating layer 212 c. FIG.11C is a schematic cross-sectional view at this stage.

The following steps are performed in accordance with the above exampleof the manufacturing process. Thus, a memory device including thecapacitor 103 including an insulating film as the dielectric layer 134can be manufactured.

In this method, a capacitor can be manufactured concurrently with avertical transistor without an increase in the number of photomasks andthe number of manufacturing steps. Therefore, a memory device can bemanufactured at low cost with high yield.

The above is the description of this modification example.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodimentsdisclosed in this specification as appropriate.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, as an example of a semiconductor device of anembodiment of the present invention, an example of a structure of amemory device which is different from the memory devices of the aboveembodiments will be described with reference to drawings. Note thatdescription of the same portions as those in the above embodiments isomitted or simplified.

FIG. 12A is a circuit diagram of a main portion of the memory devicedescribed in this embodiment.

The memory device includes the transistor 101, the transistor 102, andthe capacitor 103.

In the memory device, the wiring S1 is electrically connected to thefirst electrodes of the transistor 101 and the transistor 102, thewiring S2 is electrically connected to the second electrode of thetransistor 101, the wiring W1 is connected to the gate of the transistor102, and the wiring W2 is electrically connected to one electrode of thecapacitor 103.

FIG. 12B is a schematic top view of the memory device described as anexample in this embodiment. FIG. 12C is a schematic cross-sectional viewtaken along line D-D′ in FIG. 12B.

The memory device illustrated in FIGS. 12B and 12C has a structure inwhich a vertical transistor is used as the transistor 101 in the memorydevice described as an example in Embodiment 2.

The memory device includes the wiring layer 204 provided over aninsulating surface, the transistor 101 which is provided over the wiringlayer 204 and is a vertical transistor, the transistor 102 and thecapacitor 103 provided over the gate electrode layer 111 of thetransistor 101, the wiring layer 201 serving as the gate electrode ofthe transistor 102, the wiring layer 202 serving as the one electrode ofthe capacitor 103, and the wiring layer 203 which is provided over thetransistor 101 and the capacitor 103 and electrically connected to thetransistor 101 and the transistor 102.

The wiring layer 201 serves as the wiring W1 in FIG. 12A. The wiringlayer 202 serves as the wiring W2. The wiring layer 203 serves as thewiring S1. The wiring layer 204 serves as the wiring S2. Further, thegate electrode layer 111 corresponds to the holding node.

As illustrated in FIGS. 12B and 12C, the wiring layer 204 can beprovided below the transistor 101, so that the wiring layer 204 and thewiring layer 203 can be provided to overlap with each other. In thiscase, the wiring layer 204 and the wiring layer 203 are formed with alayer including the transistor 101 and a layer including the transistor102 and the capacitor 103 provided therebetween; therefore, the wiringlayer 204 and the wiring layer 203 can be sufficiently distanced fromeach other. Accordingly, the capacitance between the wirings can benegligible. Two wiring layers are formed to overlap with each other inthis manner, whereby the area of the memory device can be extremelysmall.

Further, in FIG. 12C, the gate electrode layer 111 and the wiring layer204 are electrically isolated from each other by the insulating filmused as the gate insulating layer 114; however, another insulating layermay be formed between the gate electrode layer 111 and the wiring layer204 to reduce capacitance therebetween. In this case, the wiring layer204 and the second electrode layer 113 may be connected to each otherthrough a connection electrode layer in the insulating layer.

The transistor 101 includes the second electrode layer 113 which isprovided over the wiring layer 204 and electrically connected to thewiring layer 204, the semiconductor layer 115 which is provided over thesecond electrode layer 113 and electrically connected to the secondelectrode layer 113, the first electrode layer 112 which is providedover the semiconductor layer 115 and electrically connected to thesemiconductor layer 115, the gate insulating layer 114 provided incontact with side surfaces of the semiconductor layer 115, the firstelectrode layer 112, and the second electrode layer 113, and the gateelectrode layer 111 provided to face at least the side surface of thesemiconductor layer 115. The channel direction is perpendicular to theinsulating surface.

An amorphous semiconductor, a polycrystalline semiconductor, a singlecrystal semiconductor, or the like can be used for the semiconductorlayer 115.

As an amorphous semiconductor, hydrogenated amorphous silicon can betypically given. As a polycrystalline semiconductor, polysilicon(polycrystalline silicon) can be typically given. Examples ofpolysilicon include so-called high-temperature polysilicon that containspolysilicon as a main component and is formed at a process temperaturehigher than or equal to 800° C., so-called low-temperature polysiliconthat contains polysilicon as a main component and is formed at a processtemperature lower than or equal to 600° C., polysilicon obtained bycrystallizing amorphous silicon by using an element that promotescrystallization or the like, and the like. It is needless to say that amicrocrystalline semiconductor or a semiconductor partially including acrystalline phase can also be used.

Any of the above oxide semiconductors may be used as the semiconductorincluded in the semiconductor layer 115. In this case, the firstelectrode layer 112 and the second electrode layer 113 are notnecessarily provided.

The method for manufacturing the transistor 102 can be employed in themanufacture of the transistor 101. In this case, the transistor 101 canbe formed using, instead of a single film of the semiconductor used asthe semiconductor layer 125, a stacked film including a semiconductorfilm to which an impurity included in the second electrode layer 113 isadded, a semiconductor film used as the semiconductor layer 115, and asemiconductor film to which an impurity included in the first electrodelayer 112 is added.

The transistor 102 and the capacitor 103 can have the structuresdescribed in the above embodiments.

Thus, when the transistor 101 is a vertical transistor, the transistor101 can be formed within a region having an area of F². In addition, thetransistor 102 and the capacitor 103 can each be formed within a regionhaving an area of F². Therefore, even in the case of high integration, amemory device whose area is extremely reduced can be achieved.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodimentsdisclosed in this specification as appropriate.

Embodiment 4

In this embodiment, as an example of a semiconductor device of anembodiment of the present invention, an example of a structure of amemory device which is different from the memory devices in the aboveembodiments will be described with reference to drawings. Note thatdescription of the same portions as those in the above embodiments isomitted or simplified.

When the memory device of an embodiment of the present inventionincludes a plurality of layers of memory devices each including thefirst transistor 101, the second transistor 102, and the capacitor 103(the layer can also be referred to as a layer of a semiconductor device,and hereinafter is referred to as a memory layer), the memory device canbe highly integrated. Further, a driver circuit can be provided belowthe memory layer. An example of a structure in which memory layers arestacked and an example of a structure in which a driver circuit isprovided below a memory layer will be described below.

Structure Example 1

FIG. 3B is used for a top view of a memory device described in thisstructure example, and FIG. 13 corresponds to a schematiccross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ and line B-B′.

The memory device of this embodiment is different from the memory devicein Embodiment 2 (e.g., FIGS. 4A and 4B) in that it is formed over aninsulating surface. In addition, the structures of the transistor 101 aand the transistor 101 b of this embodiment is different from those inEmbodiment 2.

The transistor 101 a includes the semiconductor layer 115 formed over aninsulating surface, the first electrode layer 112 a and the secondelectrode layer 113 which are provided so as to be in contact with sidesurfaces of the semiconductor layer 115 and electrically connected tothe semiconductor layer 115, the gate insulating layer 114 provided incontact with an upper surface of the semiconductor layer 115, and thegate electrode layer 111 a provided in contact with an upper surface ofthe gate insulating layer 114.

Similarly, the transistor 101 b includes the semiconductor layer 115,the first electrode layer 112 b, the second electrode layer 113, thegate insulating layer 114, and the gate electrode layer 111 b.

The element separation layer 211 is provided in contact with sidesurfaces of the semiconductor layer 115, the first electrode layer 112a, the first electrode layer 112 b, and the second electrode layer 113.

Any of the semiconductors mentioned in Embodiment 3 can be used as thesemiconductor included in the semiconductor layer 115.

A single crystal semiconductor to which a method for forming an SOIsubstrate is applied is preferably used as the semiconductor included inthe semiconductor layer 115.

An SOI substrate can be formed by the following method or the like:after oxygen ions are implanted in a mirror-polished wafer, the wafer isheated at high temperature to form an oxidized layer at a predetermineddepth from a surface of the wafer and eliminate defects generated in asurface layer. Alternatively, an SOI substrate can be formed by a methodin which a semiconductor substrate is separated by utilizing the growthof microvoids formed by hydrogen ion irradiation (this growth is causedby heat treatment). Alternatively, an SOI substrate can be formed by amethod in which a single crystal semiconductor layer is formed on aninsulating surface by crystal growth.

The transistor 102 a and the capacitor 103 a are provided over the gateelectrode layer 111 a. Further, the transistor 102 b and the capacitor103 b (not illustrated) are provided over the gate electrode layer 111b.

Here, a plurality of layers forming at least the transistor 101 a, thetransistor 102 a, and the capacitor 103 a is correctively referred to asa memory layer 250. The memory layer 250 preferably includes a pluralityof memory devices arranged over a surface where the memory layer 250 isformed. Further, the memory layer 250 includes wiring layers forelectrically connecting the transistors and the capacitors.

Thus, a structure is employed in which the transistor 101 a and thetransistor 101 b can be formed over an insulating surface, whereby aplurality of memory layers 250 can be stacked or a driver circuit can beprovided below the memory layer 250.

FIG. 14 illustrates a structure of a memory device in which a memorylayer 250 a and a memory layer 250 b are stacked over a driver circuitportion 260 formed using a conventional CMOS process.

The memory layer 250 a is provided over the driver circuit portion 260with an interlayer insulating layer 251 a provided therebetween. Thememory layer 250 b is provided over the memory layer 250 a with aninterlayer insulating layer 251 b provided therebetween.

Surfaces of the interlayer insulating layer 251 a and the interlayerinsulating layer 251 b are preferably planarized. Further, in order toreduce parasitic capacitance between the driver circuit portion 260 andthe memory layer 250 a and between the memory layer 250 a and the memorylayer 250 b, the interlayer insulating layer 251 a and the interlayerinsulating layer 251 b are preferably formed using a low-dielectricinsulating material or preferably formed sufficiently thick.

Each wiring layer included in the memory layer 250 a and the memorylayer 250 b is electrically connected to the driver circuit portion 260through a connection electrode layer in a region not illustrated, andoperation such as writing, erasing, and reading data is controlled bythe driver circuit portion 260.

Thus, with a stack of a plurality of memory layers, the amount of dataper area of a memory device can be increased. Further, even when adriver circuit is provided below a memory layer, an increase of area canbe prevented.

The above is the description of this structure example.

Modification Example

Further, in the case of employing a vertical transistor as thetransistor 101, which is described in Embodiment 3, a plurality ofmemory layers can be stacked and a driver circuit can be provided belowa memory layer in a manner similar to that of the above structureexample.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a structure of a memory device inwhich a vertical transistor is employed as the transistor 101.

Similarly to the above structure example, the memory layer 250 a isprovided over the driver circuit portion 260 with the interlayerinsulating layer 251 a provided therebetween. The memory layer 250 b isprovided over the memory layer 250 a with the interlayer insulatinglayer 251 b provided therebetween.

Here, the memory device whose area is extremely reduced, which isdescribed in Embodiment 3, is employed for each of the memory layer 250a and the memory layer 250 b. Accordingly, when a plurality of memorylayers is stacked in this manner, the amount of data per unit area canbe extremely large.

The above is the description of this modification example.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodimentsdisclosed in this specification as appropriate.

Embodiment 5

When a crystalline semiconductor film is used as an oxide semiconductorfilm applicable to the semiconductor layer 125 in the above embodiments,electric characteristics of the transistor can be improved. As thesemiconductor film, a c-axis aligned crystalline oxide semiconductor(CAAC-OS) film is preferably used. A semiconductor device including aCAAC-OS film will be described below.

The CAAC-OS film is not completely single crystal nor completelyamorphous. The CAAC-OS film is an oxide semiconductor film with acrystal-amorphous mixed phase structure where crystalline portions andamorphous portions are included in an amorphous phase. Note that in mostcases, the crystal portion fits inside a cube whose one side is lessthan 100 nm. From an observation image obtained with a transmissionelectron microscope (TEM), a boundary between an amorphous portion and acrystal portion in the CAAC-OS film is not clear. Further, with the TEM,a grain boundary in the CAAC-OS film is not found. Thus, in the CAAC-OSfilm, a reduction in electron mobility, due to the grain boundary, issuppressed.

In each of the crystal portions included in the CAAC-OS film, a c-axisis aligned in a direction parallel to a normal vector of a surface wherethe CAAC-OS film is formed or a normal vector of a surface of theCAAC-OS film, triangular or hexagonal atomic arrangement which is seenfrom the direction perpendicular to the a-b plane is formed, and metalatoms are arranged in a layered manner or metal atoms and oxygen atomsare arranged in a layered manner when seen from the directionperpendicular to the c-axis. Note that, among crystal portions, thedirections of the a-axis and the b-axis of one crystal portion may bedifferent from those of another crystal portion. In this specification,a simple term “perpendicular” includes a range from 85° to 95°. Inaddition, a simple term “parallel” includes a range from −5° to 5°.

In the CAAC-OS film, distribution of crystal portions is not necessarilyuniform. For example, in the formation process of the CAAC-OS film, inthe case where crystal growth occurs from a surface side of the oxidesemiconductor film, the proportion of crystal portions in the vicinityof the surface of the oxide semiconductor film is higher than that inthe vicinity of the surface where the oxide semiconductor film is formedin some cases. Further, when an impurity is added to the CAAC-OS film,the crystal portion in a region to which the impurity is added becomesamorphous in some cases.

Since the c-axes of the crystal portions included in the CAAC-OS filmare aligned in the direction parallel to a normal vector of a surfacewhere the CAAC-OS film is formed or a normal vector of a surface of theCAAC-OS film, the directions of the c-axes may be different from eachother depending on the shape of the CAAC-OS film (the cross-sectionalshape of the surface where the CAAC-OS film is formed or thecross-sectional shape of the surface of the CAAC-OS film). Note thatwhen the CAAC-OS film is formed, the direction of c-axis of the crystalportion is the direction parallel to a normal vector of the surfacewhere the CAAC-OS film is formed or a normal vector of the surface ofthe CAAC-OS film. The crystal portion is formed by deposition or byperforming treatment for crystallization such as heat treatment afterdeposition.

With the use of the CAAC-OS film in a transistor, change in electriccharacteristics of the transistor due to irradiation with visible lightor ultraviolet light is small. Thus, the transistor has highreliability.

Note that part of oxygen included in the oxide semiconductor film may besubstituted with nitrogen.

In an oxide semiconductor having a crystal portion such as the CAAC-OS,defects in the bulk can be further reduced and when the surface flatnessof the oxide semiconductor is improved, mobility higher than that of anoxide semiconductor in an amorphous state can be obtained. In order toimprove the surface flatness, the oxide semiconductor is preferablyformed over a flat surface. Specifically, the oxide semiconductor may beformed over a surface with the average surface roughness (Ra) of lessthan or equal to 1 nm, preferably less than or equal to 0.3 nm, morepreferably less than or equal to 0.1 nm.

Note that Ra is obtained by expanding, into three dimensions, arithmeticmean surface roughness that is defined by JIS B 0601: 2001(ISO4287:1997) so as to be able to apply it to a curved surface. Ra canbe expressed as an “average value of the absolute values of deviationsfrom a reference surface to a specific surface” and is defined byFormula 1.

$\begin{matrix}{\left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack \mspace{625mu}} & \; \\{{Ra} = {\frac{1}{S_{0}}{\int_{y_{1}}^{y_{2}}{\int_{x_{1}}^{x_{2}}{{{{f\left( {x,y} \right)} - Z_{0}}}{dxdy}}}}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

Here, the specific surface is a surface which is a target of roughnessmeasurement, and is a quadrilateral region which is specified by fourpoints represented by the coordinates (x₁, y₁, f(x₁, y₁)), (x₁, y₂,f(x₁, y₂)), (x₂, y₁, f(x₂, y₁)), and (x₂, y₂, f(x₂, y₂)). So representsthe area of a rectangle which is obtained by projecting the specificsurface on the xy plane, and Z₀ represents the height of the referencesurface (the average height of the specific surface). Ra can be measuredusing an atomic force microscope (AFM).

The CAAC-OS film described above can be obtained in such a manner that,for example, an oxide semiconductor film is formed while a substrate isheated (e.g., at a substrate temperature of 170° C.) to obtain c-axisalignment substantially perpendicular to a surface.

Note that the oxide semiconductor film may have a structure in which aplurality of oxide semiconductor films is stacked. In this case, acrystalline oxide semiconductor other than CAAC-OS may be used for oneof a first oxide semiconductor film and a second oxide semiconductorfilm In other words, CAAC-OS may be combined as appropriate with asingle crystal oxide semiconductor, a polycrystalline oxidesemiconductor, or an amorphous oxide semiconductor. When an amorphousoxide semiconductor is applied to at least either the first oxidesemiconductor film or the second oxide semiconductor film, internalstress or external stress of the stacked oxide semiconductor films isrelieved, variation in characteristics of a transistor is reduced, andreliability of the transistor can be further improved. On the otherhand, an amorphous oxide semiconductor easily absorbs an impurity suchas hydrogen, which serves as a donor, and oxygen deficiency is easilygenerated. Therefore, the amorphous oxide semiconductor is likely to ben-type. Accordingly, a crystalline oxide semiconductor such as CAAC-OSis preferably used for an oxide semiconductor film on a channel side.

Further, the oxide semiconductor film may have a stacked-layer structureincluding three or more layers in which an amorphous oxide semiconductorfilm is interposed between a plurality of crystalline oxidesemiconductor films. Furthermore, a structure in which a crystallineoxide semiconductor film and an amorphous oxide semiconductor film arealternately stacked may be employed. The above-described structures usedwhen the oxide semiconductor film has a stacked structure of a pluralityof layers can be employed in combination as appropriate.

As described above, a CAAC-OS film is used as the oxide semiconductorfilm, whereby hydrogen can be easily released from an upper surface ofthe CAAC-OS film by heat treatment (dehydrogenation treatment). Further,by the heat treatment, a large amount of hydrogen can be selectivelyreleased while the amount of oxygen released is reduced.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodimentsdisclosed in this specification as appropriate.

Embodiment 6

In this embodiment, a central processing unit (CPU) at least part ofwhich includes any of the memory devices described in the aboveembodiments will be described as an example of a semiconductor device.

FIG. 16A is a block diagram illustrating a specific structure of a CPU.The CPU illustrated in FIG. 16A includes an arithmetic logic unit (ALU)1191, an ALU controller 1192, an instruction decoder 1193, an interruptcontroller 1194, a timing controller 1195, a register 1196, a registercontroller 1197, a bus interface (Bus I/F) 1198, a rewritable ROM 1199,and an ROM interface (ROM I/F) 1189 over a substrate 1190. Asemiconductor substrate, an SOI substrate, a glass substrate, or thelike can be used as the substrate 1190. The ROM 1199 and the ROMinterface 1189 may each be provided over a separate chip. Obviously, theCPU illustrated in FIG. 16A is only an example in which the structure issimplified, and a variety of structures can be applied to an actual CPUdepending on the application.

An instruction that is input to the CPU through the bus interface 1198is input to the instruction decoder 1193 and decoded therein, and then,input to the ALU controller 1192, the interrupt controller 1194, theregister controller 1197, and the timing controller 1195.

The ALU controller 1192, the interrupt controller 1194, the registercontroller 1197, and the timing controller 1195 conduct various controlsin accordance with the decoded instruction. Specifically, the ALUcontroller 1192 generates signals for controlling the operation of theALU 1191. While the CPU is executing a program, the interrupt controller1194 judges an interrupt request from an external input/output device ora peripheral circuit on the basis of its priority or a mask state, andprocesses the request. The register controller 1197 generates an addressof the register 1196, and reads/writes data from/to the register 1196 inaccordance with the state of the CPU.

The timing controller 1195 generates signals for controlling operationtimings of the ALU 1191, the ALU controller 1192, the instructiondecoder 1193, the interrupt controller 1194, and the register controller1197. For example, the timing controller 1195 includes an internal clockgenerator for generating an internal clock signal CLK2 based on areference clock signal CLK1, and supplies the internal clock signal CLK2to the above circuits.

In the CPU illustrated in FIG. 16A, a memory cell is provided in theregister 1196 and so on. Any of the memory devices described inEmbodiments 1 to 4 can be applied to the memory cell. The memory cell inthe register 1196 includes both a logic element which inverts a logiclevel and any of the memory devices described in the above embodiments.

In the CPU illustrated in FIG. 16A, the register controller 1197 selectsoperation of holding data in the register 1196 in accordance with aninstruction from the ALU 1191. That is, the register controller 1197selects whether data is held by the logic element which inverts a logiclevel or the memory device in the memory cell included in the register1196. When data holding by the logic element which inverts a logic levelis selected, power supply voltage is supplied to the memory cell in theregister 1196. When data holding by the memory device is selected, thedata is rewritten to the memory device, and supply of power supplyvoltage to the memory cell in the register 1196 can be stopped.

The supply of power can be stopped with a switching element providedbetween a memory cell group and a node to which a power supply potentialVDD or a power supply potential VSS is supplied, as illustrated in FIG.16B or FIG. 16C. Circuits illustrated in FIGS. 16B and 16C will bedescribed below.

In each of FIGS. 16B and 16C, the register 1196 includes a switchingelement which controls supply of power supply voltage to a memory cell.

The register 1196 illustrated in FIG. 16B includes a switching element1141 and a memory cell group 1143 including a plurality of memory cells1142. Specifically, each of the memory cells 1142 includes both a logicelement which inverts a logic level and any of the above memory devices.Each of the memory cells 1142 included in the memory cell group 1143 issupplied with the high-level power supply potential VDD via theswitching element 1141. Further, each of the memory cells 1142 includedin the memory cell group 1143 is supplied with a potential of a signalIN and the low-level power supply potential VSS.

In FIG. 16B, a transistor is used as the switching element 1141, and theswitching of the transistor is controlled by a signal Sig A supplied toa gate electrode thereof.

FIG. 16B illustrates the structure in which the switching element 1141includes only one transistor. Note that the structure is not limited andthe switching element 1141 may include a plurality of transistors. Inthe case where the switching element 1141 includes a plurality oftransistors which serve as switching elements, the plurality oftransistors may be connected to each other in parallel, in series, or incombination of parallel connection and series connection.

In FIG. 16C, an example of the register 1196 in which each of the memorycells 1142 included in the memory cell group 1143 is supplied with thelow-level power supply potential VSS via the switching element 1141 isillustrated. The supply of the low-level power supply potential VSS toeach of the memory cells 1142 included in the memory cell group 1143 canbe controlled by the switching element 1141.

When a switching element is provided between a memory cell group and anode to which the power supply potential VDD or the power supplypotential VSS is supplied, data can be held even in the case whereoperation of a CPU is temporarily stopped and the supply of the powersupply voltage is stopped; accordingly, power consumption can bereduced. Specifically, for example, while a user of a personal computerdoes not input data to an input device such as a keyboard, the operationof the CPU can be stopped without losing data in the memory cell group,so that power consumption can be reduced.

Further, an electronic device including such a CPU consumes less power;therefore, the electronic device can sufficiently operate withrelatively low power obtained from a solar battery or contactless powerfeeding (wireless feeding), for example. For example, an electronicdevice may include a solar battery module or a contactless power feedingmodule, and a secondary battery (e.g., a lithium ion battery) storingpower obtained from the module.

Although the CPU is given as an example, the memory device can also beapplied to an LSI such as a digital signal processor (DSP), a customLSI, or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

Embodiment 7

A memory device or a semiconductor device disclosed in thisspecification can be applied to a variety of electronic devices(including game machines). Specific examples of electronic devices areas follows: display devices such as televisions and monitors, lightingdevices, desktop or laptop personal computers, word processors, imagereproduction devices which reproduce still images or moving imagesstored in recording media such as digital versatile discs (DVDs),portable compact disc (CD) players, radio receivers, tape recorders,headphone stereos, stereos, cordless phone handsets, transceivers,portable wireless devices, cellular phones, car phones, portable gamemachines, calculators, portable information terminals, electronicnotebooks, e-book readers, electronic translators, audio input devices,cameras such as still cameras and video cameras, electric shavers,high-frequency heating devices such as microwave ovens, electric ricecookers, electric washing machines, electric vacuum cleaners,air-conditioning systems such air conditioners, dishwashers, dishdryers, clothes dryers, futon dryers, electric refrigerators, electricfreezers, electric refrigerator-freezers, freezers for preserving DNA,smoke detectors, radiation counters, and medical equipment such asdialyzers. The examples also include industrial equipment such as guidelights, traffic lights, belt conveyors, elevators, escalators,industrial robots, and power storage systems. In addition, movableobjects driven by oil engines or motors using power from non-aqueoussecondary batteries are also included in the category of electronicdevices. Examples of the movable objects are electric vehicles (EV),hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) which include both an internal-combustionengine and a motor, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), trackedvehicles in which caterpillar tracks are substituted for wheels of thesevehicles, motorized bicycles including motor-assisted bicycles,motorcycles, electric wheelchairs, golf carts, boats, ships, submarines,helicopters, aircrafts, rockets, artificial satellites, space probes,planetary probes, and spacecrafts. Specific examples of such electronicdevices are illustrated in FIGS. 17A and 17B and FIGS. 18A to 18C.

FIG. 17A illustrates a portable music player, which includes, in a mainbody 3021, a display portion 3023, a fixing portion 3022 with which themain body is worn on the ear, an operation button 3024, an externalconnection port 3025, and the like. The portable music player mayinclude a speaker. Any of the memory devices or any of the semiconductordevices described in the above embodiments is applied to a memory, aCPU, or the like included in the main body 3021, whereby a portablemusic player (PDA) whose power consumption is reduced can be provided.

Furthermore, when the portable music player illustrated in FIG. 17A hasan antenna, a microphone function, or a wireless communication functionand is used with a mobile phone, a user can talk on the phone wirelesslyin a hands-free way while driving a car or the like.

FIG. 17B illustrates a computer, which includes a main body 9201including a CPU, a housing 9202, a display portion 9203, a keyboard9204, an external connection port 9205, a pointing device 9206, and thelike. With the use of any of the semiconductor devices described in theabove embodiments, such as the memory device and the CPU, powerconsumption of the computer can be reduced.

In a television set 8000 in FIG. 18A, a display portion 8002 isincorporated in a housing 8001. The display portion 8002 can display animage and a speaker portion 8003 can output sound. Any of the memorydevices or any of the semiconductor devices described in the aboveembodiments can be used for a driver circuit for operating the displayportion 8002 incorporated in the housing 8001.

A semiconductor display device such as a liquid crystal display device,a light-emitting device in which a light-emitting element such as anorganic EL element is provided in each pixel, an electrophoretic displaydevice, a digital micromirror device (DMD), or a plasma display panel(PDP) can be used for the display portion 8002.

The television set 8000 may be provided with a receiver, a modem, andthe like. With the receiver, the television set 8000 can receive ageneral television broadcast. Furthermore, when the television set 8000is connected to a communication network by wired or wireless connectionvia the modem, one-way (from a transmitter to a receiver) or two-way(between a transmitter and a receiver, between receivers, or the like)data communication can be performed.

In addition, the television set 8000 may include a CPU for performinginformation communication or a memory. The semiconductor device such asthe memory device or the CPU described in the above embodiments can beused for the television set 8000.

In FIG. 18A, an air conditioner which includes an indoor unit 8200 andan outdoor unit 8204 is an example of an electronic device in which asemiconductor device such as the CPU described in the above embodimentis used. Specifically, the indoor unit 8200 includes a housing 8201, anair outlet 8202, a CPU 8203, and the like. Although the CPU 8203 isprovided in the indoor unit 8200 in FIG. 18A, the CPU 8203 may beprovided in the outdoor unit 8204. Alternatively, the CPU 8203 may beprovided in both the indoor unit 8200 and the outdoor unit 8204. Withthe CPU described in the above embodiment, an air conditioner which isexcellent in power saving can be provided.

In FIG. 18A, an electric refrigerator-freezer 8300 is an example of anelectronic device which is provided with a semiconductor device such asthe CPU described in the above embodiment. Specifically, the electricrefrigerator-freezer 8300 includes a housing 8301, a door for arefrigerator 8302, a door for a freezer 8303, a CPU 8304, and the like.In FIG. 18A, the CPU 8304 is provided in the housing 8301. When asemiconductor device such as the CPU described in the above embodimentis used as the CPU 8304 of the electric refrigerator-freezer 8300, powersaving can be achieved.

FIGS. 18B and 18C illustrate an example of an electric vehicle which isan example of an electronic device. An electric vehicle 9700 is equippedwith a secondary battery 9701. The output of the electric power of thesecondary battery 9701 is adjusted by a control circuit 9702 and theelectric power is supplied to a driving device 9703. The control circuit9702 is controlled by a processing unit 9704 including a ROM, a RAM, aCPU, or the like which is not illustrated. When any of the semiconductordevices described in the above embodiment, such as the memory device orthe CPU, is used in the processing unit 9704 in the electric vehicle9700, power consumption of the electric vehicle 9700 can be reduced.

The driving device 9703 includes a DC motor or an AC motor either aloneor in combination with an internal-combustion engine. The processingunit 9704 outputs a control signal to the control circuit 9702 based oninput data such as data of operation (e.g., acceleration, deceleration,or stop) by a driver or data during driving (e.g., data on an upgrade ora downgrade, or data on a load on a driving wheel) of the electricvehicle 9700. The control circuit 9702 adjusts the electric energysupplied from the secondary battery 9701 in accordance with the controlsignal of the processing unit 9704 to control the output of the drivingdevice 9703. In the case where the AC motor is mounted, although notillustrated, an inverter which converts direct current into alternatecurrent is also incorporated.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the other embodimentsdisclosed in this specification as appropriate.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.2012-044109 filed with Japan Patent Office on Feb. 29, 2012, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. (canceled)
 2. A semiconductor device, comprising: a plurality ofmemory cells stacked over a layer comprising a driving circuit, whereineach of the memory cells comprises: a first transistor; a secondtransistor; and a capacitor; wherein a gate electrode of the firsttransistor is electrically connected to one of electrodes of thecapacitor and to one of a source electrode and a drain electrode of thesecond transistor, wherein, in a plane view, a semiconductor layer ofthe second transistor and a dielectric of the capacitor do not protrudefrom the gate electrode of the first transistor, and a channel formationregion of the second transistor comprises an oxide semiconductor.
 3. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the dielectric of thecapacitor comprises the same material as the semiconductor layer of thesecond transistor.
 4. The semiconductor device according to claim 2,wherein the oxide semiconductor is an In—Ga—Zn-based oxide.
 5. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein each of the firsttransistor and the second transistor is electrically connected to thedriving circuit through a connection electrode layer.
 6. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 2, further comprising aninsulating layer over a first memory cell of the plurality of the memorycells, and a second memory cell of the plurality of the memory cellsover the insulating layer.
 7. The semiconductor device according toclaim 6, wherein the insulating layer comprises a low-dielectricinsulating material.
 8. The semiconductor device according to claim 2,wherein the semiconductor layer of the second transistor has cylindricalshape.
 9. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein thedielectric of the capacitor has cylindrical shape.
 10. The semiconductordevice according to claim 2, wherein a channel direction of the firsttransistor is perpendicular to a channel direction of the secondtransistor.